


We can be in love once more

by klembek



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Dwalin Is A Softie, F/M, Getting Together, Post-Canon, dis knows what she wants, kind of awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28180590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klembek/pseuds/klembek
Summary: Dis is coming back to Erebor and the things she has left there.
Relationships: Dís/Dwalin (Tolkien)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9
Collections: The Hobbit Discord Server’s Holiday Gift Exchange 2020





	We can be in love once more

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shrimpsthings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shrimpsthings/gifts).



> Shripms said "Dis/Dwalin, Bofur with or without a ship, Ri brothers, sons of Durin" and I said "You got it!"

Spring brought all things back. The bird’s singing, the greenery and merchants from the whole Middle-earth and, today, also the first group of dwarves from the Blue Mountains who wanted to live in Erebor. And the leader of the group was lady Dis herself.

Now, Dwalin wasn’t some young dwarfling, who would feel butterflies in his stomach just thinking about his king’s beautiful sister. Neither did he care about making an impression on her. The fact that he was fixing his uniform for the thousandth time that day had nothing to do with Dis. He was the captain of Thorin’s guard. He had to look powerful, for Mahal’s sake, so that potential assassins would know that they shouldn’t even try to breath in his king’s direction.

This has nothing to do with Dis.

The last time he saw her was still vivid in his mind. She hugged him and made him promise he’d keep her family safe. Her family and himself. And then she kissed his cheek. The memory kept him warm during the whole quest.

Maybe you are a giggling lass after all, you old fool, he thought to himself.

*

They were all standing together, Thorin, Fili and Kili in the front, Dwalin and Balin a few steps behind them, when the gate opened and the travellers entered the Mountain with Dis in the lead. Even the weeks spent on the road couldn’t make her any less beautiful and graceful.

She smiled widely and Dwalin could swear the world lit up in an instant.

“Thorin!” she said and pulled her brother into a hug. Dwalin heard them both laughing and ignored the weird feeling in his stomach. He watched as she hugged and kissed the foreheads of both of her sons and exchanged greetings with Balin. He tried not to shift as she moved towards him.

“Hello, Dwalin,” she said standing in front of him and looking into his eyes.

“My lady.” He bowed.

“I see you really took my request to heart.” She looked at his uniform with a smile. “It suits you.”

Before Dwalin could come up with an answer, Thorin appeared next to them, clearly oblivious to whatever was happening right at that moment.

:Come. You must be very tired after the journey.” his king said and laid his hand on Dis’ back, leading her towards the chambers he had prepared for her. Dwalin followed them with his eyes, surprised when the princess turned her head and looked at him one last time before disappearing behind the corner.

*

The feast was truly amazing, much bigger than the one they had after Thorin’s coronation. The celebrations had been far from happy back then, taking place a few days after the battle, with the smell of burnt bodies still lingering in the air and the weeping of the fallens’ families.

Now the musicians were playing lively songs, the tables were bending under the weight of food and drink, guests were laughing and singing, lots of them were dancing. Good. The whole grim mood surrounding the Mountain was slowly becoming exhausting, even for Dwalin. He hoped this day would bring more cheer and laughter to Erebor.

He was drinking with other members of the king’s guard, when suddenly all of them stopped laughing and bowed. Dwalin turned around to see Dis smiling at them.

“My lady.” He bowed as well, aware of the eyes of other dwarves on him.

“Everything is changing, but not you, Dwalin,” she said with a smile. “You still prefer drinking to dancing.”

“Our captain dances only on a battlefield,” one of the dwarves spoke up and the others agreed to his words.

“Go find yourself more beer,” Dwalin said. They all looked at him in surprise, but they did as they were told.

“I heard you were the one who brought Fili to the medics on time,” Dis started, the smile gone from her lips. “A few minutes later and he would be dead. Thank you.”

“I promised you, didn’t I?” he said and he wondered if this was the effect of the beer when he said: “I’d do everything you asked for.”

Dis smiled and looked at him curiously, keeping him unable to move under the stare of her blue eyes, “Is it because I’m the king’s sister or is there any other reason?”

He was about to reply with something very stupid when Bofur appeared next to them.

“My lady.” The dwarf bowed to Dis and offered her his hand. “Would you like to dance with a simple toy-maker?”

Dis laughed, “You’re anything but simple, Master Bofur.”

They started to dance and Dwalin poured himself more beer, not sure what he felt right now.

*  
After the battle, Bard became the king of Dale. Some of the people returned to whatever was left from Esgaroth, but most of them stayed in the city, and more and more of them would come everyday.

It wasn’t a surprise when one day Dis finally announced that she wanted to visit the city.

“You shouldn’t go unescorted,” Thorin said.

“Dwalin will go with me, right Dwalin?” she replied, looking at him.

“Of course, my lady,” the warrior agreed.

If he thought that they’d finally have some time alone, all his hopes were shattered to dust when Kili found out about their trip. The young prince joined them and he didn’t forget to bring his brother with him.

Dale was a safe town, the one where dwarves and men could live together in peace. That however didn’t change the fact that Dwalin was now escorting three members of the royal family. He was following them with his hand on a hilt of his weapon, eyeing everyone who dared to walk too close to them.

That was when Fili and Kili spotted Bain on the other side of the square. They rushed to greet him, leaving Dwalin and Dis behind.

“Before the quest they were just kids to me,” Dis said, stopping for a moment so they could walk next to each other. “Now they are grown-ups, the princes of Erebor.”

“It must feel strange,” he replied, not sure what she wanted to hear.

“A bit, yes,” she admitted. “Especially knowing that now they can take care of themselves. But that also means that I can focus on other things now,” She looked at him meaningfully. He opened his mouth to say something, but then ...

“Mother, come and meet Bain!” Kili shouted. Dis smiled in a charming manner and walked up to her sons, leaving Dwalin with his words unspoken.

*

After the trip to Dale, there was no chance for Dwalin to talk to Dis in private. She wanted to know as much as she could about the quest and from now on she was seen in Ori’s company all the time. The young dwarf would show her drawings and tell her about almost every day of the journey.

A week passed before Dwalin finally saw her alone again. She was walking down the corridor, probably to visit the library. He sped up to catch her. He opened his mouth to call her, but then the wall opened next to him. He stopped, seeing Nori in the secret passage.

“How many times am I supposed to tell you not to use the hidden doors?” he screamed and started chasing the other dwarf. He was a soldier. He knew the duty came first, even if he felt a pang of sadness at the missed opportunity to talk to Dis.

*

He managed to catch Nori. He dragged him to Thorin and left him there, throwing him to their king’s mercy. He honestly hoped that this time the little prat would end up in dungeons for a few days. Thorin was going easy on him so far, but even a member of the Company shouldn’t break the law all the time.

Dwalin was so deep in his thoughts that he bumped into some other dwarf who walked out of the tunnel.

“Watch your- My lady,” his tone changed immediately when he realised the dwarf in front of him was Dis.

“I promise to be more careful the next time,” she said with a smile.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” he assured, taking a respectful step back. “I’m the one who should apologise.”

“Well, apologies accepted. But that doesn’t change the fact that it hurt.”

“My lady-” he started, but Dis wasn’t finished.

“Escort me to my chambers, Dwalin,” she said, though it didn’t really feel like a command.

“Of course.”

Dis put her hand in the crook of his arm. They walked through the corridors, catching the attention of everyone they met along the way. Dwalin tried to remain calm and not show any emotion on his face, but he couldn’t ignore the warmth of Dis’ body next to him.

“Remember when we used to play in these halls together?” Dis asked, pulling him out of his own thoughts.

He smiled, “How could I ever forget?”

Dis would sneak out of her sewing lessons and put both him and Frerin in trouble. They were playing jokes on Balin and Thorin, who were always busy, doing grown-up things. The amount of times they got caught and told off by Thrain and Fundin was surprisingly low, considering all their mischief.

“Even then you liked to order us around,” he said.

“It’s not my fault that both you and Frerin weren’t the leader types.”

“Maybe if you let us try at least once…”

“You’d get us all killed, thank you very much.”

They laughed together at the memory.

“I also remember the time when we played without Frerin,” Dis said, turning left.

“This isn’t the way to your chambers,” Dwalin said, but he followed her anyway. Finally, Dis stopped and turned so they were standing face to face.

He recognised the corridor. It was the old way to the forge. Since the new, shorter passage was made, nobody used it anymore. Well, not for going to the forge, at least.

Dwalin remembered the last time they were here together. Both stupid and young. Making jokes and giggling.

He kissed Dis for the first time here.

It was nothing big, just a quick touch of lips, but enough for him to blush like a rose. Dis laughed at him, but she wasn’t mocking, warmth and fondness clear in her eyes.

But then, two days later, Smaug attacked them. Dwalin focused on fighting in the wars. He and Dis were slowly drifting apart. When she was getting married to Vili, the feeling that used to bind them together was just a distant memory of better times.

And now they were here again. In the same corridor. Older, marked with battles and grief, but still alive.

“Let’s start off where we finished,” Dis said.

She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for one of the funniest people I've ever met [ shrimpsthings ](https://shrimpsthings.tumblr.com/rel=) . I hope you like it! 
> 
> Everyone say thank you to amazing [ Lathalea ](https://lathalea.tumblr.com/rel=) who agreed to be my beta.


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